American Music Club are hanging out at Nick Cave’s house. Guided By Voices comes over later, feeling down in the dumps but bringing more beer at least. On this CD, well-crafted songs abound, forlorn but with hooks everywhere. Fine singing and playing, no problem there. What really sets this band apart is their willingness to experiment sonically on every track. Their strong pop sensibility is distorted and enhanced with samples, found sounds, odd EQs, and vocal effects. Once in a while the boys play it straight, but not for long. I’m impressed with the arrangements and the band’s production ideas. A tiny bit of language on Track 8, which is too bad because the song is gorgeous and I’d love to hear it played a lot on the radio. Ultimately, I can’t say enough good things about this release.